Bush to Honor Youth Who Subdued Armed Classmate

A former San Gabriel High School student who subdued an armed classmate as he held 70 students hostage is one of four teen-agers President Bush will award 1988 Young American Medals for Bravery at a White House ceremony next week, U.S. Justice Department officials said Sunday.

Ruben Ortega, 19, wrestled a .223-caliber, Korean-made assault rifle from classmate Jeff Lyne Cox after Cox took over an English class for more than half an hour in April, 1988, and demanded cigarettes, refreshments and $1 million.

Cox had ordered the teacher, Julie Rivera, out of the room and fired a shot when several students tried to escape. As Cox talked to authorities on the classroom telephone, Ortega jumped him. Several others students then helped Ortega, who now works for a company that makes signs and banners, wrestle Cox to the floor and disarm him.

The rifle discharged again as Cox was being subdued, but no one was injured.

Classmates described Ortega, then 18, as a quiet, unassuming senior who was not nearly as well-known on campus as Cox, a troubled student who once ran for senior class president and had a reputation as a practical joker.

“Yeah, I was afraid,” Ortega said Sunday. “But I was just trying to get the gun away from him. I thought he was going to start killing people, start hurting people.

“I didn’t think he would have time to shoot me. He was sitting on a chair and the rifle was in between his legs, pointing upward.”

Ortega conceded that it “feels kind of good” to have his friends call him a hero.

Nominated by Deukmejian

In June, Ortega was presented the Governor’s 1988 Young American Medal for Bravery Award--a program established in 1950 to honor people 18 or younger who distinguish themselves by acts of bravery or by demonstrating outstanding character and service. Gov. George Deukmejian nominated him for the national honor.

The other medal winners Bush will honor are Angela Marie Campanoli, 12, of Lacey, Wash.; Freddy Torres, 18, of Boston; and John Philip Donovan, 17, of River Vale, N.J.

Campanoli, then 11, rescued a Japanese tourist who was being swept out to sea off Maui, Hawaii, in October, 1988. The young girl held the drowning woman’s head above water until additional help arrived.

Torres, as an 18-year-old senior at East Boston High School, spent countless hours in 1988 as a peer leader, helping hundreds of young Bostonians stay away from drugs and learn about the dangers of AIDS and alcohol abuse.

Donovan was a junior assistant scout master and Eagle Scout in a Boy Scout troop whose members had learning and other disabilities. He also raised $6,500 for muscular dystrophy and was actively involved in Students Against Drunk Driving and Adopt-a-Family clothing- and gift-gathering programs, among other activities.

“These award winners are examples of what’s good about America’s youth,” said Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh. “Despite all we hear about the acts of small numbers of teen-agers, most of today’s youths are law-abiding young men and women who will become productive adults and good citizens.”

The awards will be presented Sept. 21.